CONTINUOUS NIP MONITORING, 2008 PAPERCON Conference

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Press section efficiency is largely reliant upon contact uniformity in the press nip. There are a number of parameters that influence the nip uniformity, some of which vary over time. To optimize efficiency, the user must compensate for these varying effects. This compensation requires real time knowledge of the nip performance. Stowe Woodward’s SMART® roll system is capable of measuring and monitoring press section load profiles as paper is being produced and providing this real time nip performance knowledge. This embedded sensor system has been implemented in a number of paper mills with interesting results. It is capable of detecting load profile changes that result from typical operational events. This feedback may be used to help operators improve the efficiency of the press. This paper briefly describes the system and its benefits over previous nip measurement systems. It then describes several applications of the system and presents field results from those applications.